If they weren't listed on the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme), they'd cost about $42,000 per person per year.

But she says the long-term benefit is worth the $220 million over five years the Government is setting aside.

TANYA PLIBERSEK: We expect over coming years around 9,000 cases of liver damage will be prevented because of the listing of these new drugs.

That in turn translates into 2,400 fewer cases of liver cancer and we hope to reduce the need for liver transplants by almost 870 people over the next few years.

ASHLEY HALL: While hepatitis C sufferers have welcomed the subsidy, they're disappointed it's taken so long to convince the Government to spend the money.

Helen Tyrrell is the chief executive of Hepatitis Australia.

HELEN TYRRELL: For innovative new medicines that are potentially life-saving for some people, we feel that the process probably does need to be quicker.

ASHLEY HALL: So how long has it taken?

HELEN TYRELL: Well many countries have had the drugs available for at least 12 months longer than Australia.

ASHLEY HALL: These two new drugs are seen as the forerunners of a whole new class of treatments for hepatitis C which won't carry the dreadful side effects associated with many of the current treatments.

The chair of the Australian Liver Association, Professor Geoff McCaughan, says they're not far off. And when they do arrive, he promises to boost the excitement level even further.

GEOFF MCCAUGHAN: In about three or four or five years' time, I'm going to be back here, hopefully with the Minister, and the excitement level is going to be 9.5 to 9.9 out of ten.

So it's a great day for the patients who suffer from chronic hepatitis C in this country.

ASHLEY HALL: Not such a great day though for people with some other common health conditions including herpes infections of the eye, serious bacterial infections, whooping cough, high blood pressure and inflammatory bowel disease.

A spokesman for the Health Minister says the price of nine medications will be increased to ensure their continued supply.

CAROL BENNETT: The manufacturers, for whatever reason, don't think that it's viable to continue to supply them, so the Government has to increase the price in order to keep them on the market.

ASHLEY HALL: Carol Bennett is the chief executive of the Consumer Health Forum of Australia.

CAROL BENNETT: There are additional prices that pharmacists can charge on top of these increased prices that will really make these drugs difficult for many people to afford.

ASHLEY HALL: For instance, the Government-sanctioned price rise will boost the cost of the whooping cough drug Erythromycin from $10.79 to $12.16.

But pharmacists are allowed to add another five dollars or more on top of that, taking the price over $17.

CAROL BENNETT: That five dollars could be the difference between being able to afford a loaf of bread or a bottle of milk versus having to purchase one of these medicines.

ASHLEY HALL: The Pharmacy Guild says the full increases are unlikely to flow on to consumers because of the prevalence of discounting in the market.